Production service fees fuel Babelsberg

9:50 AM PST 1/27/2009
by
Scott Roxborough
,
AP

Studio reports profit of $4.7 mil for 2008

BERLIN -- Production service fees on films such as "Ninja Assassin" and "Inglorious Basterds" helped Germany's Studio Babelsberg to revenue of 65 million euros ($85.6 million) in 2008 and to a net profits of 3.6 million euros ($4.7 million).

The profit figure was just over half the 6 million euros Babelsberg earned in 2007, but the studio said the bulk of the difference was due to a one-time write off.

Babelsberg was optimistic about the coming year, pointing to Roman Polanski's Robert Harris adaptation "The Ghost" -- set to begin production in Babelsberg early February -- and to the company's recent co-production deal with "Ninja Assassin" producer Joel Silver as indicative of the studio's long-term viability.